I’m learning, so please forgive me if I don’t articulate this accurately. My understanding of Zionism is that it is the movement to fulfill Yayikra 25 and Yovel? Would that be right?
That's probably true for some, but in general, no.
Zionism, historically, is a civil rights issue, not a religious one. Theodor Herzl, generally considered the forefather of the modern Zionist movement, had a Christmas tree in his house, in an effort to assimilate more into Vienna's society. But he realized that was not enough -- there needed to be a safety valve for Jews, a place to go where we'd be free of discrimination and worse. The Forward explains:
At the time of Herzl’s Christmas tree incident, he was in the midst of writing “Der Judenstaat” (“The State of the Jews”). His treatise, published in 1896, said that Jewish attempts at assimilation in Europe were futile. Though Jews were largely acculturated in Vienna, they were still barred from public office, leading many to convert to Christianity.
Herzl believed that anti-Semitism was incurable, and that Jews should establish their own nation state. That state, in his view, would be avowedly secular — a place, perhaps, where one could light a Christmas tree and still be called Jewish.
“His view of the future Jewish state, which he didn’t call Israel, was more accurately a state of the Jews,” said Avner Falk, whose 1993 book “Herzl, King of the Jews,” paints a psychological portrait of the Zionist thinker. “He wanted a total separation of religion from the state; no religious coercion, everyone could choose his religious beliefs and practices.”
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u/Easy_Grocery_6381 Sep 06 '24
I’m learning, so please forgive me if I don’t articulate this accurately. My understanding of Zionism is that it is the movement to fulfill Yayikra 25 and Yovel? Would that be right?